Posts Tagged ‘low-fat’

As we help patients with metabolic syndrome improve multiple risk factors, we recognize that suggesting small, incremental diet and lifestyle changes may help the new behaviors stick and not overwhelm people to the point of giving up.

A new study conducted in adults with metabolic syndrome found that just one change – increasing low-fat dairy intake to the recommended 3 servings per day with 1 percent milk, non-fat yogurt, and 2% cheese – improved fasting glucose in men and resulted in reduced body weight and waist circumference in women. (more…)

If you could pick only one adjective to describe dairy foods, what would it be? If you are a health professional, you might say “nutritious” or “nutrient dense” and that would be true. After all, the dairy food group―milk, cheese and yogurt―contributes many nutrients to the diet that are important for good health including calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and riboflavin for relatively few calories. In fact, that is the main focus of the September/October issue of the Dairy Council Digest:Dairy Foods: A Major Nutrient Contributor to Americans’ Diets.

ScienceDailyreports on a new study examining weight loss on a low carbohydrate versus a low-fat diet combined with exercise. Both groups lost weight; however, the low carbohydrate group lost weight faster. Although the low carbohydrate diet was higher in fat, measures of cardiovascular health were not altered by the diet. This work provides additional data indicating that a low carbohydrate, higher fat diet will not negatively affect heart disease risk.

A large, prospective study conducted in Europe provides food for thought as we emerge from the holidays to counsel clients about losing weight.

European researchers analyzed data from 89,432 men and women from six cohorts and five countries enrolled in the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study to assess the association between the amount and type of dietary fat and subsequent weight change over time (3.7 to 10 years). Country-specific food-frequency questionnaires were used to assess baseline intake of total, saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

The average total fat intake of participants ranged between 31.5 percent to 36.5 percent of calories, and the average annual weight change was 109 gm/year in men and 119 gm/year in women.

“No significant association was observed between fat intake (amount or type) and weight change,” the authors report. They conclude, “These findings do not support the use of low-fat diets to prevent weight gain.” They add, “Our findings lend support to the scientific view that promoting low-fat diets may not offer the optimal approach for tackling the obesity epidemic and might potentially divert attention from the recommended goals of reducing the dietary total energy content or promoting greater physical activity as set out in the current U.S. national dietary guidelines.”